Fall feeding for cool-season lawns, and where the sources stop
Five states put the main nitrogen feeding of a cool-season lawn in fall, while warm-season sources say to stop in the same months.
By LawnYear editorial team · Published · Updated Windows are read from the extension publications listed under Sources; the dates are approximate.
Approximate dates for your state. Check with your local cooperative extension office before you act.
For cool-season lawns, five of the state sources used on this site put the main nitrogen feeding in fall, and they do it with different dates and amounts.
Virginia Cooperative Extension prefers fall nitrogen, up to 0.7 lb of water-soluble nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft every 3 to 4 weeks, and gives spring (0.25 to 0.5 lb every 4 to 8 weeks) as the second-best time. NC State gives 1 lb of nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft in mid-September and again in November for tall fescue, when the grass is green but not actively growing, plus 1 lb in February. The University of Missouri gives 1 lb in mid-September and another 1 lb in mid-October. Ohio State's calendar gives 1 lb in late October or early November, after the first hard frost while the grass is still green, and calls it the most important feeding of the year. The University of Georgia lists October and November as the best months for tall fescue, with September possible, and 2 to 4 lb of nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft a year.
Penn State says nitrogen is applied in mid- to late spring and/or in late summer to early fall, and refers you to the label rate.
The sources differ on timing. Missouri's two feedings are in September and October, North Carolina's are in September and November, and Ohio's single late-fall feeding is tied to the first hard frost rather than a date. They also differ on spring: Missouri says to avoid late spring and early summer nitrogen on cool-season lawns, while Virginia and Ohio both list a spring feeding.
Warm-season sources say the opposite for the same months. Clemson says to apply no nitrogen to bermudagrass from September to December, and NC State says no more than 1/2 lb in September. The University of Missouri says not to fertilize zoysiagrass into September. A fall feeding that suits tall fescue is therefore not what these sources advise for a bermudagrass or zoysiagrass lawn.
Where the sources stop: they do not agree on one date, and several of the dates on this site are read from charts or season words.
How we read the sources: where a post sets states or grasses side by side, the comparison is ours, made by reading the extension pages next to each other. Every number comes from the page named.